How to assess your business communication skills

1. Actually listen to yourself talking. Is your telephone greeting automatically cheerful, clear and professional? Can every word be clearly understood by the listener? Do people often look puzzled, or ask you to repeat yourself?

2. When you meet a stranger at a gathering, do you know how to make small talk with him if you choose to do so?

3. How's your hearing? Three groups are most at risk - and one of them is a surprise to many employers. The three are older employees, starting in their late 50's, those exposed to loud noise, and...employees in their late teens and twenties who use earbuds while playing music too loudly. (Twenty percent of teens and those in their early twenties have some signs of hearing loss.) If in doubt, get your hearing acuity checked by a certified audiologist - and wear ear protection when exposed to loud noise (such as lawn mowers).

4. When you try to persuade someone, do you first think of his needs before you plan your reasoning? For example, does he need something done fast, accurately, at less cost, more conveniently or in a simpler manner?

5. If you are an executive, how are your skills in professional listening, delegating, employee retention, leading brain-storming sessions, making employees feel connected to the company and verbalizing ideas concisely?
Most of an executive's work involves professional-level communication skills; do yours need an upgrade?

Business Speech Improvement offers small group seminars, individual coaching, and coaching via telephone or Skype (in selected states only). For details, go here.

E-books on presentation skills, speaking slower, diction, American English pronunciation practice, making small talk,  executive communication skills, or communicating with someone with a hearing loss, click here.

Imagine yourself or your employees with better communication - and visit Business Speech Improvement today!

Top 5 Tips to Improve Your Speech

Top 5 Tips to Improve Your Speech
"Speech" means different things to people. So, the tips below try to cover a variety of needs.
5. When meeting strangers at a party or conference, think about what you have in common with them, and come up with a statement plus a question ahead of time. For example, "This is a great party! How do you know (the host)?" or "What do you do for the organization?"
4. If you give presentations, remember that you have just 30 seconds to capture your audience's attention. Use startling statistics, a surprising fact or a 2-3 sentence story to start your talk. Then say your name.
3. If you have a strong accent that impedes clear communication, speak slower and keep paper nearby to write any words that your listener does not understand.
2. When your speech is not understood, use a synonym, such as "excellent" for "very good".
1. To help you persuade others, remember the acronym WIIFM, "what's in it for me". Why should someone do what you want done? Will it save frustration or money, increase productivity or make it easier to meet goals?

For more great tips, check out Business Speech Improvement's economical e-books! Business Speech Improvement also provides intensive coaching.

Speaking clearly - tips for success

Have you ever noticed that some people seem to speak more clearly than others? Clear speech makes communicating your message easier, and gives the speaker a more polished verbal image, causing others to notice.

Here are three simple tips to speak English more clearly. First, make sure your rate of speech is appropriate. Slow down when you are speaking to young children, seniors, people who may not understand your professional/technical terms and concepts, and people with hearing loss. Second, make sure you are saying the final sounds of words clearly, especially if they are at the ends of sentences or phrases.
Third, if English is not your native language, or if you have a strong regional accent, find out what sounds, if any, you are mispronouncing in standard English.

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive, customized training in accent modification, diction, grammar, communication for leaders and more. E-books are also offered onsite on those topics.

Foreign accent modification training: what do people learn?

A professional from another country reported, "I've wanted to speak English better, but I didn't know what to do. Now, after this seminar, I do."

In (American English) Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals, each attendee gets an individual speech assessment. Even two people from the same native language, such as Spanish, may pronounce English differently. Each person then receives a customized program so he learns what he specifically needs. Learners study the silent letters in English, such as the three words in which "th" is not pronounced.

Materials and activities are geared to professionals. For example, at the end of the session, a professor may give a short lecture using his new speech skills.
A physician may practice giving a case history. Someone else may interview a vendor. Attendees enjoy these activities! After the seminar, there is a detailed follow-up plan to help skills be maintained.

Past learners report they feel more confident speaking English, and know what to do to make their pronunciation better.

For those who cannot attend, e-books of exercises are onsite.

Isn't this what you are searching for, for yourself or an
employee?

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training in may aspects of verbal communication.

Struggle with saying big words?

Many smart adults have difficulty saying long words. Every time they say the word, it comes out differently. Maybe they omit certain sounds, such as a "t" in an "str" word such as strong. Maybe the vowel comes out differently as they practice.

Sometimes they have had this problem all their lives, or it may suddenly appear after a stroke or head injury.However it appears, it can be so frustrating!

Here are three things people can try. First, listen carefully for the correct pronunciation. Use the pronunciation button on online dictionaries if needed. Second, try to read the word (or visualize it in your mind) to get in all the sounds. Third,
use another word with the same meaning, such as pretend for act, to get the message across.

If none of these help, look for a certified speech pathologist who has experience in diagnosing and treating the speech disorder of verbal apraxia in adults.

Katie Schwartz, CCC-SLP is director of Business Speech Improvement (www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com). She provides individual and group speech coaching on a wide variety of communication needs.

Improving Diction: Getting Your Message Across - the First Time

There are many causes for poor diction, such as speaking too fast, lack of self-confidence in certain situations, weakness or in-coordination of your mouth's muscles, to a hearing loss.
(If you don't hear clearly, you may not know you are not saying certain sounds.)

One tip you can try to improve your diction is to actually listen to yourself speak.
Record your speech when reading aloud, when talking to a friend, or even when describing your surroundings to yourself. Are there certain sounds you are not saying clearly? Do you speak too fast? Ask your friends or colleagues for advice about when you speak less clearly. If your diction has worsened significantly recently, check with your physician; it may be a sign of a neurological problem. For other speech impairments, you may want to have a speech evaluation from a speech pathologist.

General exercises to improve diction can be found in the e-book "Diction Makes A Difference". Intensive reading practice combined with audio files can be found in
"Learn to pronounce American English more clearly." Both can be gotten from http://businessspeechimprovement.com/enabler3/scripts/category.pl?EBooks.

Business Speech Improvement provides training in verbal communication skills.
Coaching and e-books from a corporate speech pathologist are available on many topics, including diction, accent modification, public speaking, executive communication, profession-specific communication and more!

Clients ask, "Why don't Americans help us?"

Many clients from other countries in the Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals seminar offered by Business Speech Improvement ask the same question: why don't native-born Americans help them improve their pronunciation of American English? In their native countries, their work groups naturally help the newcomers with various aspects of their job, including their communication skills. In the USA, though, native-born Americans are afraid this would offend their non-native co-workers; in addition, many people don't have the time or skill to know how to make corrections efficiently and effectively.

If you yourself or your valued employees want to improve your American English pronunciation,
learn about upcoming seminars at www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com/accents .
What would better pronunciation do for you or your employee?

What's the best way to learn to speak English better?

One of the most common questions I get as a communication coach from my professional clients from other countries is, "How can I speak better English quickly?" I then ask them, "How much time do you speak English now?"

Many times people from other countries only speak a limited amount of English at work or when in the community shopping. At home they speak their native language, and many of their friends are from their native country, so they speak that language with them as well. Some also take English as a Second Language classes, or for those more fluent, classes in a local college.

But the best way to learn a language is to surround oneself with native speakers of that language and actually speak it as much as possible. At work, ask to get on company or departmental committees, or get involved in your neighborhood association or a recreational activity that involves speaking. This is not selfish; when you speak better English, you will be able to help your children and spouse with their English as well. The more you speak English, the easier it will be. Many communities and some companies have free classes available for spouses as well to help them become more involved in their new communities.

For those from other countries who want to improve their American English pronunciation, Business Speech Improvement offers a three day intensive class on Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals. Visit http://businessspeechimprovement.com/enabler/scripts/category.pl?Classes to enroll in the next session!

Pronouncing American English more clearly

"I want to speak (American) English better but I don't know what to do to sound clearer" is a comment of many of the clients of Business Speech Improvement. They (or their companies) are often calling about the intensive course, Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals. They or their companies are frustrated about the difficulty they are having communicating clearly.

This three day intensive course offers instruction that focuses on pronunciation. Learners receive an individual assessment and a customized program, which includes some professional vocabulary.

Open enrollment, company-specific and individual classes are available. For details, visit www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com.